PEOPLE, NOT CORPORATIONS: The Boulder City Council early this morning agreed that the city attorney should draft potential ballot language for a referendum that would call for an end to unlimited corporate spending in politics, the Daily Camera reports.

A NEW GREELEY LAWMAKER: Weld County Democrats on Thursday will pick between a retired Greeley-Evans School District 6 teacher and a former prosecutor to fill the slot left open when Rep. Jim Riesberg left the Legislature to become the state’s insurance commissioner, the Greeley Tribune reports.

AND IN THIS CORNER: Colorado.Pols has a hilarious photo illustration for tonight’s debt-ceiling debate between conservative Sen. Shawn Mitchell and the Denver Post’s own unabashed liberal columnist Mike Littwin. Check it out here.

GOING TO POT: Proponents of a ban on medical marijuana businesses in Fort Collins turned in petitions to the City Clerk’s Office on Tuesday, a step toward setting an election on the issue, The Coloradoan reports.

DOLLARS AND SENSE: A deal to cut $3.7 trillion from the nation’s deficit over 10 years gained momentum in the Senate on Tuesday. Sen. Mark Udall said the group of senators working on the deal “can turn this gang into a peaceful mob, a mob to make a difference, not with pitchforks and torches and knives . . . but the commitment to get America’s fiscal house in order.” Read the Post’s Allison Sherry.

BOTTOMS UP: Governor John Hickenlooper plans to create a more business-friendly environment by helping employers get access to capital under a plan to be unveiled today, Bloomberg reports.

MORE ON THE PLAN: It lays out objectives for regulatory reform, opening gateways to financing for businesses, tailoring education to demands in the workforce and boosting the state’s appeal as a relocation site for employers, says the Pueblo Chieftain.

PRAISE FOR THE PLAN: “I was much more impressed with it than I thought I might be,” said Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. “When you go around and interview 5,000 people, what you tend to get is a plan that gets lumpy in the middle.” The Denver Post has the story.

HOWDY, PARDNER: Mark Ferrandino calls his partner his “husband.” New Denver City Councilwoman Robin Kniech uses the term “partner.” Tim Gill calls his other half “husband” since they got married in Massachusetts two years ago. Read about it in OutFront Colorado.

State Rep. Jim Riesberg, a Greeley Democrat serving his last term in office, will be named insurance commissioner this week, Capitol sources said.

Riesberg, known as a strong advocate for senior citizens and the disabled, will resign his House seat, and a vacancy committee will elect a successor.

Riesberg will succeed John J. Postolowski, who has been serving as the interim director of the Colorado Division of Insurance. He has worked for the state since 2001.

A Weld County Democrat will be appointed to serve out Riesberg’s term, which ends in January 2013. Among the names mentioned as a possible successor to his House seat is Eric Rothaus, who served as deputy state treasurer under Cary Kennedy.

The appointment is one of the last to be made by Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, was one of the speakers today at Agriculture Day at the Capitol. (Jack Wylie/Senate Majority Office)

Lawmakers today paid tribute to Colorado’s second largest industry, agriculture.

“You have to love this profession to do it,” said Rep. Randy Baumgarnder, R-Hot Sulphur Springs, talking about bringing newborn calves into the laundry room to help them survive.

A resolution declaring today National Agriculture Day was introduced in the House by Republican Jerry Sonnenberg of Sterling and in the Senate by Democrat Gail Schwartz of Snowmass Village. Both chair the ag committees in their chamber.

The resolution read, in part:

WHEREAS, Colorado’s agriculture industry helps feed the nation;
drives the state economy; restores wetlands; participates in conservation programs that prevent soil erosion, improve air and water quality, and enhance wildlife habitat; and plays a major role in providing feedstock for the production of renewable fuels.

The former spokeswoman for the House Democrats has written a blistering letter to Republicans, facetiously urging them to approve a bill killing a hospital-provider fee.

“As a hard-core Democrat, I urge you, implore you, please vote for Rep. Joshi’s HB 1025 which would abolish (the) Healthcare Affordability Act of 2009 — an act that not only saves consumers and the state money, it actually helps the working-poor afford health care,” Katie Reinisch wrote in her letter.

“Voting for it would really help us Democrats. I say, go for it, GOP!”

Reinisch resigned after the November election, when Republicans regained the majority in the House by one seat. Among the victors: Rep. Janak Joshi, R-Colorado Springs, a retired doctor who wants to do away with the hospital-provider fee.

HB 1025 was scheduled to be heard by the Health & Environment Committee at its 1:30 p.m. meeting Thursday, but the bill has been pulled for now.

Lynn Bartels thinks politics is like sports but without the big salaries and protective cups. The Washington Post's "The Fix" blog has named her one of Colorado's best political reporters and tweeters.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.